Heineken’s marketers are currently investigating whether ads that capture attention effectively drive responses. They have been working with Playground xyz since late 2024 to measure how much attention their ads need to prompt a reaction.
The results have shown that the amount of attention required varies depending on factors like the platform and the creative content.
This study focused on Heineken’s Spanish lager brand, Cruzcampo, and its first online ad campaign in the U.K., which ran from October to December. These ads were designed to grab immediate attention, regardless of the platform.
On YouTube, Cruzcampo’s video ads achieved a significant impact within just 0.5 seconds, greatly increasing viewer awareness by 28%, which is 3.5 times the baseline. Similarly, on Instagram and Facebook, the ads captured Optimal Attention in 0.6 seconds, boosting awareness by up to 20%, or 2.5 times the baseline.
Daniel Glynn, programmatic lead at Heineken, noted that high attention alone does not guarantee improved recall or awareness, emphasizing the complexity of the relationship between attention and ad performance.
Cruzcampo’s campaign showed that even minimal attention could lift brand awareness, a crucial insight given the nature of social media, where attention is typically fleeting.
The campaign’s findings suggest that front-loading branding in ads, like showcasing pack shots at the beginning, can be highly effective. This approach questions the necessity of long ad durations for brand recall.
Heineken’s experience indicates that shorter, attention-grabbing ads might be sufficient, potentially leading to more cost-effective media placements. This strategy could allow Heineken to maximize reach without significantly increasing spending.
Heineken’s strategy has broader implications for their ad-buying decisions. Jimmy Hughes, social media lead at Heineken, pointed out that understanding the minimal attention threshold necessary for awareness allows them to invest wisely in short ads aimed at building awareness.
This contrasts with investments in longer-form content, suggesting a nuanced approach to different types of advertising content and their respective effectiveness.
The challenge of optimizing ad content for various platforms remains significant, especially with the impending changes in the measurement landscape due to the disappearance of third-party cookies. Attention metrics might become a crucial alternative to traditional metrics.
Heineken’s need to correlate attention with brand uplift is critical to ensuring their ad spend drives business metrics. However, the industry must reach a consensus on the best ways to measure attention to move beyond experimental phases and adopt comprehensive, outcome-based metrics that are relevant to advertisers.
